Chip cards have been known for a long time and are increasingly being used, for example, as telephone cards, identification cards or the like. There are standards which define the dimensions and technical details of such chip cards. These standards are, for example, ISO 7810 and ISO 7816.
Chip cards are currently divided into three categories, the contactless chip cards, the chip cards with contacts and the so-called combination cards. Both the chip cards with contacts and the combination cards have a contact zone that provides contacts in accordance with the above standards. The contacts are connected to a circuit that is integrated in the chip card. The arrangement of these contact areas on the chip card is clearly defined by the standards. The contact zones of the card contacts currently include a suitable metallic surface which is produced, for example, from gold, NiPdAg or similar materials. The individual contact areas are separated from one another in an insulating manner by means of separating channels.
The increasing importance of the chip cards is likewise associated with an increasing interest in preventing manipulation of the cards.
A conventional chip card module, for example, may include a carrier which has contact areas. Arranged opposite the contact areas on the carrier is a semiconductor chip having an integrated circuit which has connecting contacts on one surface of the chip, the connecting contacts being connected to associated contact areas in an electrically conductive manner. The contact areas may have a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer, cluster elements comprising metallic clusters being embedded in the second conductive layer. The random distribution of these cluster elements makes it possible to individualize the chip card, and detecting and storing the significant physical properties, which result from the cluster elements, in the chip make it possible to authenticate the module as such even before it is installed in a card.